


You're Never Actually in Control

by Ending_Daley



Category: Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-06-02 19:40:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6579790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ending_Daley/pseuds/Ending_Daley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With her young nephews visiting Jurassic World Claire Dearing is faced with forced leave and a certain plucky Raptor trainer who helps as much as he can to keep the boys occupied.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're Never Actually in Control

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this was a little idea that I had, that in fact isn't very little at all. It took me a very long, and yet not so long time to write this and I really hope that it's okay.

Claire sighed heavily as she watched the boys a few steps in front of her. She felt the slightest twinge of guilt for palming them off to Zara for the day, but only because her sister had reamed her out over the phone for it. She was busy, what did Karen expect? It wasn’t like Claire had promised to spend every second with them. Although, apparently that was subtext.

_‘They are little boys, Claire! They need someone with them. Someone familiar, that would be you.’_ Claire was hardly the most familiar face in their lives. They probably knew some of her sister’s friends better than they knew Claire themselves. And yet, their young faces were so excited to see her earlier that morning in the Innovation Centre it almost knocked the air out of her lungs. 

The distance she put between them wasn’t entirely intentional. Claire had nothing in common with her sister once Zach was born. Which wasn’t Karen’s fault. Her whole world shifted, her central focus becoming that of her brand new son. It made staying away easier for Claire, not that she needed an excuse. 

Karen always knew how to guilt her. Their mother’s words spilling from her mouth as she half screeched down the phone to her sister. This wasn’t about Claire, or her job (even though, it was to Claire) it was about the boys and spending time with family. Claire only insisted that they could stay with their grandfather off island. It would have the same affect, Michael Dearing more than willing to babysit his grandsons. Claire had already organised it, even went over to help her dad reorganise his small home for the two boys. Karen disagreed with the arrangement and instead insisted they were escorted directly to the Jurassic World ferry. 

‘ _They want to spend time with_ you _Claire-Bear. You’re the dinosaur queen in Gray’s eyes.’_ She had rolled her eyes at that. _Dinosaur Queen_. There was little Claire knew about dinosaurs, unrelated to figures on her statistic reports. She would fail that little boy more than he could possibly dream. 

She was avoiding the crushed look in puppy blue eyes with the realisation that she was not all Gray dreamed her to be. Since when had Claire avoided the opinion of a boy? Never. But, nephews seemed to count for something. Coworkers, it didn’t matter. Family, there would be a Thanksgiving, a Christmas, a reunion of some kind - she didn’t want to be entirely shunned if she ever chose to show her face. Claire wasn’t completely convinced, but maybe she liked the way her nephew adored her, that unconditional love that came with childlike exuberance. 

‘Aunt Claire!’ Gray cried once he spotted her. He ran, arms outstretched, grin on his face unusually large. She waved shyly, unsure of how to react to the little boy who barrelled into her knees. She waved Zara off when her young assistant looked at her panicked, terrified that there was a meeting her boss was late for. 

She shrugged when Zara stared at her. ’It’s under control,’ Claire breathed, nonchalant. In reality she cancelled a lot of semi important meetings, and off loaded the rest. If there was anything Karen Mitchell could do, it was getting what she wanted through guilt. ‘I’m going to spend the rest of the day with my nephews. The adjustments to my schedule have been emailed to your phone.’

‘Mom yelled at you, didn’t she?’ Zach asked, eyeing her suspiciously as his little brother continued to cling to her legs. Claire watched him for a second, as the boy stood with his hands in his pockets. How old was he anyway? And calling _her_ out. She gave the boy a simple nod, maybe it would be good if he knew she had been guilted. He lived with Karen, surely she had done the same to him. 

Gray tugged on her shirt sleeve, arm held above his small blond head in order to gain her attention. ‘Can we go to the petting zoo?’ He asked quietly, eyes blown wide to pair off with his innocent voice. ‘They’ve got a baby Brachiosaurus!’ He was jumping now, fingers still curled around her shirt as he bounced, jostling Claire with each movement. 

She laughed at the spot on pronunciation coming from the four-year-old. Masrani Global had worried that most terminology was too wordy for the younger audiences they were trying to entice. Simon found roadblocks with trying to change preexisting names for the dinosaurs his money was bringing back to life. She should have called Gray during those board meetings in order to settle Simon’s fears. Then again, her nephew was a genius, or so Karen had insisted. 

It was all nods with those boys, she couldn’t find the verbal to say yes when all they needed was a nod. She nodded that Zara was free from her baby sitting duty, she nodded that Zach was right about his mother guilting her, and she nodded that it was absolutely okay for them to seek out the petting zoo. Maybe a day or two with her nephews wouldn’t be too bad. Claire had never explored the park before, not beyond necessary means. There were still attractions and sights she had been yet to see. 

It all felt too easy, almost freeing, when Gray slipped his little hand into hers and tugged. 

Claire was peering around the heads and shoulders of adults, trying to read the information on the plaque for the young boys standing by her hip. Gray gripped onto her hand tightly, his hold shifting a little as he tried to peer into the enclosure past the other patrons who were lingering too long.‘Brachiosaurs fossils have been found in the US, Tanzania, Portugal and Algeria,’ Claire read with distraction, Gray pulling on her hand briskly. 

She was getting annoyed with the constant pull, throwing a glare at Gray who had one hand raised above his head. He was watching her with large, inquisitive eyes, pleading for something Claire didn’t understand. She was about to pull him away, leading the boys to another part of the park’s petting zoo when Gray whimpered. 

‘No! I haven’t seen the Brachiosaurs.’ 

Claire sighed, ‘There’s too many people here, Gray. We’re better off moving along.’ She wiggled her fingers under his grasp trying to encourage him forward. They couldn’t always have what they wanted, Claire rationalised. They could be stuck there for an age, if she succumbed to his little pout. There was no fuss in the thing anyway. Claire could _just_ see past the other heads to get a peek at the baby animal. 

‘Mom picks him up,’ Zach offered behind her. ‘When he can’t see … Mom picks him up.’ Claire blinked at the boy before she dragged her eyes from the eldest to the youngest. She didn’t do this. There was no hoisting of children on her hip so they could peer in at a _specific_ baby dinosaur when there were plenty to choose from. 

‘Please?’ Gray asked with his little pout. Claire discovered quickly that she was not immune to his wide eyes, eager passion burning so brightly she was blind to it. 

Claire sighed, hands flattening out her clothes before she slipped her hands under his arms and lifted the boy onto her hip. She grunted slightly with his weight, but overall was surprised to find how light he was. It took a second to get comfortable, unused to toting a child around before Claire wedged herself in between two guests so Gray could take a closer look. 

He squealed in her ear, pointing as he excitedly exclaimed more facts than what the park’s plaques held. Zach had squeezed in around her legs, manoeuvring himself to the front of the pack, hands wrapped around the fencing. Gray asked her questions with gusto not stopping to take a breath. Claire had feared not knowing the answers for him, not the dinosaur enthusiast he thought she was all thanks to her job. Surprisingly she knew quite a bit about the dinosaur in front of them.

‘Her name is Nessie,’ She told the boys, squeezing Gray’s hip as she readjusted her grip. Maybe, being Senior Assets Manager had it’s perks. She’d clearly learnt something from all those progress reports. Although the name for this particular creature stuck in her head more than others. They were all numbers, not names. But, Nessie sat in the office pool for weeks, everyone arguing over what to name her. Claire had been the one to settle it, begrudgingly, settling on Nessie out of irony more than anything else. 

In a quiet voice, as to not disturb the other guests, or give away the fact that she worked there - Claire told Gray everything she could remember about Nessie’s file. 

They continued like that for most of the petting zoo, Gray never once touching the ground, content on Claire’s now aching hip. He looked at her with such open awe every time she recalled a name or a statistic, capable of telling the boy how many pounds the animal was at last weigh in; he loved that more than anything else. 

She drew the line at going _in_ the petting zoo. Zach and Gray entered on their own, hand in hand (as per Claire’s request) as she stood watch with a few other parents. Zach kept to himself, letting go of his brother’s hand the second the gate was closed behind them. Gray shook like an excited puppy, caught in excitement so much he couldn’t move. Evidently, he didn’t know where to start, the guest allowed inclosure a dream come true. Zach managed to do a lap of the space before he came back to Gray, gently guiding his brother to an unoccupied creature. 

She fussed over her clothes more than anything while they interacted one on one with the docile baby dinosaurs. Twenty-five minutes with Gray on her hip and her silk shirt was creased in every which way. It wasn’t his fault, it was hers. She should have known better, applied some common sense and did what her sister asked from day one. 

The boys’ stomachs growled as they stepped out of the petting zoo, Gray almost pushing his brother aside to hold Claire’s hand. She declared lunch with ease, leading the boys out the gate and toward Main Street. 

She knew it was going to be a disaster the second she let go of Gray’s hand. Their food had been ordered, Zach holding the table number in his hand as Claire let go of Gray to grab their drinks. He didn’t like the lack of contact, and instead hooked his finger in her belt loop. Claire hadn’t noticed until she stepped wrong, tripping over the boy mid one-eighty degree turn in search of him. 

Claire knew it was all over the second she felt her knee buckle, body falling easily. She squeezed her eyes closed and let out a squeak body bracing for impact on the concrete as she tried to catch her fall with an arm. She never touched the ground, large arms wrapped around her waist instead, muscle tensing against her hip as someone helped her to her feet again. There was a present hand on the small of her back as Claire blinked, trying to get her eyes to focus and her heart to calm down. 

‘You okay?’ The smooth voice of her rescuer reached her ears, Claire grasping his hand on her hip. She nodded, free hand scrubbing her face a little as she turned to look at him, heat flaming in her cheeks. He was smirking when her eyes met his, something dancing in his green pools as she stepped back and slid his touch from her. 

‘Mr Grady,’ Claire breathed, half jumping back in a need to compose herself, irritated that she had been caught off guard by one of the only men on the island who irked her to the pits of her soul. Maybe that was too harsh, something better reserved for Vic Hoskins, but Owen Grady was working up to it, one late report at a time. ‘Thank you,’ She nodded briskly, hand jutting out to find Gray’s shoulder. 

The boys were beside her, watching on with open mouths, Gray holding the drinks Claire had thrown mid fall (never, did she think she would be grateful for bottled juice). She pushed them toward a table, making sure they were seated before she turned back to the man, flustered. 

‘You sure you’re okay?’ He asked, eyes tracking the lines of her face, worry seeping into his. Claire nodded, humming that she was perfectly okay, thanks to him. She didn’t know what it was about Owen, but he had her blood boiling. He had managed to find every way possible to infuriate her only four months into his project. With freshly hatched dinosaurs apart of a research field, Owen was due to hand a progress report in twice monthly. He failed, on every occasion, running on his own schedule instead of hers. He had the nerve to be cocky about it too, delivering reports to her office, grin almost stamped in place. 

It didn’t help at all that he was too damn attractive for his own good. All dirty blond hair and sun kissed skin. Although his smirk infuriated her, it also set her alight, reigniting something she certainly didn’t want to address with him or his deep green eyes. 

‘Do you work here?’ Gray piped up. Claire sighed his name, encouraging him to sit back down. She could see why he assumed as much (he _was_ correct). Owen was covered in dirt, his boots slicked with it, the mud now likely hard as stone in the tread of his footwear. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to above his elbows, the fabric itself covered in dust, his arms too. She noted, without really paying attention, that his forearms were coated in scratches, a cut on his wrist bleeding slightly. 

He definitely worked there. Unfortunately for Claire. 

Owen approached the boy, crouching down in front of him, just a little to the right of Claire’s hip. ‘Sure do, bud.’ He grinned wide for the boy whose jaw only dropped, more questions falling out of it. 

When Gray asked what Owen did at Jurassic World, Claire sighed heavily. It had to be Owen, it couldn’t have been someone from The Control Room, or maintenance, or one of the teens they hired to operate the rides - hell, she would take ACU over Owen Grady if given the choice. 

‘Well, actually I have a very exciting job.’ He told Gray, the smile never wavering from either of their faces, Gray on the edge of his seat. Even Zach was leaning in, eyes ablaze in anticipation of Owen’s answer. ‘I work over in the research sector training Velociraptors. Well they’re still babies, so it’s not really training, more playing.’ 

‘Can we come see?!’ Gray begged as he bounced in his chair, hands clasped together. He knew he was capable of asking those questions. His aunt was a bigwig at the park, she’d get them in anywhere anytime … not that Claire had expressed that to them directly but somehow the boys just knew. 

‘It’s up to your …’ Owen looked to Claire, unsure as to who she was in relation to these boys. There was a resemblance, but it was faint, not enough to call her their mother. 

‘Aunt.’ She supplied for him as she crossed her arms over her chest. ‘I can’t say no, now.’ She nodded to the eager boys, Zach too. He had known, upon first contact that Gray was evidently excitable and clearly dinosaur mad, and yet Owen chose to tell them the truth. He could have lied. He could have turned Gray down without asking Claire’s permission first. ‘But, tomorrow.’ It was already three. Although there was plenty of daylight hours left, Claire didn’t want to use up the novelty of the park before their trip was done. Karen had sent them for several days after all.

Her admission that they had to wait until morning left the boys groaning (Owen too) disappointed that they had to wait. There was nothing they could do to convince her otherwise. 

*

She distracted them with the employee pool and Netflix before feeding them both and tucking them into bed. Her position granted Claire a lot of things thanks to Masrani Global and Jurassic World. Having one of the bigger apartments was certainly a perk, her guest room finally getting use after several years of dormancy. 

Whispering goodnight to Gray, the boy’s eyelids drooping, Claire couldn’t help but scoff at his quiet bedtime question. ‘Do you think Owen knows a lot about dinosaurs?’ Anticipation for the morning was burning in his little brain, the incessant questions following them around their evening. 

‘He would like to think he does.’ She offered sarcastically. The man was cocky, she wouldn’t put it past him if he thought himself a regular expert. 

*

Owen met them at the perimeter gate surrounding the raptor paddock. Gray was practically clawing at the interior of her Mercedes to get out, waving erratically at Owen as he pressed constantly sticky fingers to her windows. Claire was still trying to figure out how exactly Gray was always covered in _something._ Zach, nonchalant, told her that was just how Gray was. 

She only just managed to lock the car in park when the back door flung open, little boys pouring out of it and throwing themselves at Owen. Claire stumbled out of the car herself, flustered from the morning spent with her nephews. She was running on half a cup of coffee thanks to them, not completely put together, and wholly put off. 

Owen beamed, smile growing across his face. ‘Mornin’,’ Claire didn’t miss the way his eyes tracked her, shutting the drivers side door with a push of her hip. She felt self-conscious in blue wash ankle length jeans, and a grey stripped t-shirt. It was rare that anyone on the island caught Claire Dearing in casual clothes. He looked at her like he’d won the jackpot, eyes flashing as Gray tugged on his fingers begging to see the Velociraptors. 

‘All right now!’ Owen commandeered, clapping his hands together as he tore his eyes from Claire to address the young boys. ‘This here paddock is still a construction site, so be careful. Please.’ He added, eying the boys seriously. Zach and Gray nodded eagerly, almost itching with anticipation to start. 

His Raptors were still young, Owen couldn’t stress that enough, seeking out Claire’s eye as he did so. They both held their reservations about the other, evidently. She wasn’t there to judge the work he had done. The Raptors had only hatched a little over three months ago, leaving them to be prehistoric dogs - that could bite your arm off, Owen felt the need to add flashing off the scratches on his arms as he spoke.

‘Boys, meet Charlie, Delta, Echo and … Blue.’ Owen pointed to each dinosaur as they neared the paddock, the raptors inside packing the fence line. Each one was as big as Gray, despite their young age, skin gleaming and eyes shinning in the sun. ‘You look cute,’ He offered Claire quietly, hand barely bushing her back as Gray and Zach were caught in a wonder-filled trance. His comment and touch were so slight Claire could have blinked and missed it all. She doubted it even happened, the morning sun getting to her already. When Owen winked, her stomach flipping just slightly Claire knew she hadn’t made it up.

‘Can we go in?’ Gray asked, turning his innocent eyes on Owen. Gray, as Claire was coming to realised, liked to bounce. He never stopped moving, he was constant beans, bouncing or fidgeting never sitting in between. Mostly, he jumped when he was happy, begging for something or trembling with excitement. Zach on the other hand was statue still. 

Owen chuckled, ‘Ah, not anymore’. His face lit up, just as excited as the little boy. ‘But, I can show you something cool.’ Owen announced, as he lead the small group with a nod of his head a little further around the paddock. 

Claire shook her head at the sight of scaffolding scaling the length of the paddock exterior. Zach was already moving for it with the confirming nod of Owen’s head. It shook lightly under the boy’s touch, only one step up. Claire announced that she’d wait for them at the bottom, no need for all of them to go up. ‘C’mon, Red!’ Owen exclaimed on a sigh, almost bent in half to scoop Gray up off the ground. 

She looked him dead in the eye, ‘If you don’t think that’s safe enough for a four-year-old to climb, I’m not going up there’. She bit her lip and refused. Owen wouldn’t back down, grinning as he trapped her into stepping up onto the scaffold backwards before she realised what she had done. 

‘It’s not that I don’t think it’s safe, Claire.’ He told her, ‘I just know he’s bound to fall. ‘Sides, I’m right behind you. You’ll be fine.’ Claire could feel his fingers hovering, but not touching the small of her back, the man’s arm extended to steady her if need be. She tossed a glare over her shoulder, purposefully trying to ignore the way his eyes simmered with humour, his smile impossibly wide. 

It was when she got to the top, turning to wait for Owen, her hand gripping tight to the railing that it hit Claire. The weird flutter in her stomach was back, her knees slightly weak, either from fear or from the sight of Owen holding the toddler. He was huge, well above average for men his age, little over six foot and weighing god knows what. The sight of him, Gray on his hip, little boy’s fingers pressed into his neck, smiles on both their faces awakened a primal urge Claire thought she would never experience. Her chest ached with a need that dated back centuries. What was it with men and small children? She’d worked at the park for years, and never once had a man with his daughter or son sparked that flame in her. Of course it had to be Owen. He couldn’t possibly infuriate her anymore. 

She stayed back from the edge, as Owen and the boys peered into the paddock from above learning how to identify each of Owen’s girls from their markings. He had put Gray back on his feet, crouching on the edge with a boy at each side. Gray leant on him heavily, arm resting on Owen’s shoulder as he probed the man for information begging Owen to hand over the secret of dinosaurs. 

The scaffolding rattled after several minutes, boots clanked against the metal, slapping on their way up. ‘We got guests today, Owen?’ The accented voice was attached to that of a dark skinned man, dressed similarity to Owen. Claire recognised his face and placed him easily as one of the trainers assigned to the raptors but couldn’t recall his name. He smiled at her, warm and welcoming more like they were old friends rather than bare acquaintances. 

‘Look at that timing,’ Owen cheered, flashing his teeth. ‘Barry this is Zach, and Gray.’ He introduced the boys easily and nodded over at Claire. Barry already knew who she was. In his hand he held a bucket, the bucket containing dead rats for the raptors. The boys squirmed away from the refrigerated vermin, turning down Owen’s _kind_ offer to let them throw one each to the girls. Claire couldn’t help the chuckle at their disgusted faces, Gray almost turning green at the sight of the bucket’s contents. 

Claire was thrilled to finally leave the top of _the catwalk,_ as Owen was calling it, the man promising her that it would become a permanent part of the paddock’s structure. He couldn’t train the girls through bars, and he certainly couldn’t climb into the paddock with them.

‘What’s your aunt got in store for you boys today?’ Owen asked casually, the four of them descending the scaffold stairs. 

Gray sighed in his ear, a small finger poking Owen’s cheek. ‘The Aviary - I wanna see the T-Rex!’ Claire rolled her eyes, under no circumstances was she taking either child into the T-Rex Kingdom. They would only get scared and she wasn’t going to be a willing participant in their tears and later their nightmares. 

Zach echoed his brother’s sentiment as Owen gasped. ‘The Aviary is my favourite. Did you know it’s as big as the resort - That place is huge! There’s this one spot, oh man, it’s great. The Pteranodon’s like to perch a little to the left it’s perfect for watching them take off.’ All eyes were on Owen, the boys soaking in every word he said, instantly asking for specific instructions to the viewing platform while Claire stared at him in shock. 

‘Can you come with us?’ Zach asked, brown eyes darting between Owen and Claire. 

‘Please?’ Gray begged. ‘Aunt Claire is the queen of dinosaurs - but you know more than she does.’ The young boy offered unashamed as Claire felt her cheeks blush with embarrassment.

Owen shrugged, ‘That’s up to Claire’. Suddenly, all eyes were on her. Truth of the matter was Owen kept them entertained. And, as the boys had said, he knew a lot more about she did. So what if she selfishly nodded her head to cut her self some slack for the afternoon. Owen could be as much of a handful as the two boys, but at least the three of them could potentially cancel each other out. At least, she hoped. 

*

The Aviary, surprisingly, wasn’t as busy as Claire had anticipated. It wasn’t the most popular destination in the park, but based on figures alone in managed to squeeze in a heavy crowd. The Mosasaurus tank was fairly new to the park still and was pulling the attention from assets set further into the island. Which, for her, made life easier. The less people loitering around the paddocks meant they could be in and out in a matter of minutes instead of stuck waiting to get a peek. 

Gray was relentless, he wouldn’t leave until they had seen what he had gone there to see. Owen was surprisingly good company. He was funny, and kind, and knew exactly how to keep the boys entertained. They were completely enthralled with him, caught on every word that came out of his mouth. 

They’d returned Claire’s to the Control parking garage in favour of taking the monorail. Although there were service roads, and space enough to park, Owen insisted the boys needed an authentic experience of Jurassic World. Claire for once didn’t argue, hoping in the slightest that it would tire them out quicker. 

Gray sat in Owen’s lap the whole way, asking to stop at each stop begging to see what excitement lay beyond it. Owen insisted they got off, letting the boys explore what they were interested in. Used to being organised, it flustered Claire a little that they didn’t arrive at the aviary until they were two hours behind her schedule. 

‘Just smile and say thank you. It’s not that hard,’ Owen chuckled into her ear as they disembarked the monorail, Claire’s feathers rustled. 

There had been an elderly woman sitting across from them, smiling at their small group of four. Gray was talking animatedly in Owen’s lap about the Gallimimus they had just seen, while Zach lent into her side asking over the potential for food. Owen had one arm slung over the back of their chairs, encompassing Claire and Zach in his space. The woman watching them, leant over to Claire with a fond smile and complimented her on her husband and sons. 

‘She was wrong, Owen.’ Claire huffed, arms crossing over her chest, eyes on the boys racing ahead of them.

‘Didn’t mean you had to tell her that,’ He had a hand on his stomach, laughing so joyously it hurt. There had been a fire in her eyes when she not so politely corrected the woman on her assumption, fierce enough that he would have been frightened had laughter not bubbled up in him already. ‘You’re never going to see her again. let her think what she wants to think.’ He had to fight back the urge to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her close, to deposit a fond kiss to the top of her head. Although Owen had harboured a crush on Claire since he’d first seen her striking red hair and pouty expression, the urge caught him off guard. So what if he wasn’t offended at the woman who had seen them as family. He certainly wouldn’t complain if the words were whispered to him. Instead, he knew, his heart would swell with pride and thump with the need for it to be true. 

‘What, like you want someone to think you’re married to me?’ Claire laughed in a self deprecating way, mind caught on a rather furious argument they’d had only weeks after they first met. She was fairly sure he hated her, and was only there to amuse her nephews. 

Owen shrugged, ‘It wouldn’t be so bad’. That seemed to shut her up, Claire flabbergasted at his words, her head turned down to her feet as she refused to look at him. 

Owen led them to his favourite spot in the aviary, whooping at their good timing - it was almost feeding time. He lifted Gray, to stand the boy on the edge of the railing, Zach by his hip, tall enough to see over the protective concrete. 

Claire kept her distance, which was something she did a lot. Owen looked for her over his shoulder, the woman’s head down, fingers tapping at her phone only. At least he won in some respects, she wasn’t an active participant in dinosaur observation, but she was close by, enough that he could reach his hand out and touch her hip. 

‘That better not be work,’ He told her, dropping his voice low in warning. Claire jumped slightly, in her own headspace more than reality. She shook her head with a soft smile, flashing the screen of her phone to show him what she was doing. Claire had sent pictures to her sister, updating the woman on the boys’ day. Just as she showed him the screen, a new message popped up, all capitals, asking Claire who the ‘ _gorgeous hunk of man’_ was in her pictures. He didn’t even know she had been taking pictures, beyond one or two with the boys standing in front of a paddock, large dinosaur behind them. Even then, he had been the one to insist. But, apparently she had gotten pictures with him too. 

Owen laughed as he cheeks flushed, screen disappearing from his line of sight as he fingers returned to tapping at the screen. 

‘Aunt Claire, Aunt Claire - look!’ Gray shrieked, whole body wiggling on the spot, feet never quite leaving the surface he was standing on. Owen held onto him. He couldn’t fall forward thanks to a think non-destructible mesh, but he could still fall backwards. ‘You’re missing it!’ He jumped, arms flying everywhere as he pointed at every creature he could see. 

She slid in beside Owen, on hand on his back while the other clasped Gray’s shoulder. ‘Calm down, I can see it.’ She told him softly, terrified that he would hurt himself if he got too overexcited. The boy hadn’t once, since they arrived, turned back to see if she was watching, only exclaimed loudly as food was dropped into the aviary, flying prehistoric beasts swarming to eat. 

Dread sat low in Claire’s belly once the boys grew tired of the aviary. This was what Owen came along for, to share the space and then presumably go back to his duties. Although she had been hesitant for him to come along, Claire now suddenly couldn’t imagine spending the rest of the day without him. He brought an energy to their group Claire didn’t know how to muster. Something that came with a childlike sense of adventure and an evident undying love for the creatures this park brought back to life. He knew _all_ the answers to Gray’s somewhat hard questions, and Zach’s relatively easy ones. He even fed her information before they approached a paddock, so she could answer a few questions for the boys instead of him. 

He made sure she was on the pedestal Claire thought she had dropped down from years ago. 

Claire was bracing herself for his departure, trying to figure out what she was going to do with the boys after he left. Surely, it would put a sour mood on all of them. As much as she liked to view herself in good light, she was not entertaining to boys she could not connect with. 

‘Hey, ah,’ He started while they waited for the next monorail. Claire held her breath. ‘Zach’s on the edge of starvation, it’s probably best if we head back to Main Street, and feed ‘im. I, ah, have a buddy who works on the Mosasaurs show, he can get us in without having to line up. I know they’re keen on seein’ it.’ Something in her chest, most likely her heart, swelled at the words coming from his mouth. He hadn’t formally been invited to spend the day with them, but she couldn’t imagine getting through the rest of the night without his company. 

Claire nodded, checking the time on her watch briefly. ‘By the time we get back it’ll be close to five. Early dinner and then he show? Can your buddy get us in for six?’ 

Owen pulled his phone out of his back pocket, ‘I’ll ask’. 

*

The Mosasaurs show had each and every one of them captivated. Claire on the edge of her seat in rapt fascination, Owen’s eyes on her the whole time taking in the joy on her face. 

Zach asked sweetly for ice-cream before they headed in. Claire couldn’t say no, buying each of them a cone. They walked along Main Street tracing the edges of the Mosasaurs tank that sat in the centre. Gray was asleep on his feet, his ice-cream dropped on the ground before anyone had noticed. 

Owen picked the little boy up once again, swooping the child into his large arms as if Gray was nothing but a feather. The boy settled against his shoulder, quickly falling into a deep sleep. 

Claire offered to take him from Owen, to call it a night and say goodbye. He shook his head. Claire’s apartment wasn’t far from where they were, he would walk them back. Besides, it was getting dark and the dirt track that let to employee lodging wasn’t well lit. There had never been an incidents, but Owen would have liked to play it safe. 

She let him into her apartment easily, Zach following Owen’s steps. The eldest brother got himself ready for bed without instruction while Owen tucked Gray into the bed Claire told him to. Zach was out the second his head hit the pillow. 

‘Do you want a drink?’ Claire asked Owen quietly as she left the boys’ door ajar, the two of them slipping into the hallway.

Owen’s grin was marvellous in low light, his mouth almost lopsided as he whispered an easy, ‘Sure’. He had not expected the glass of red wine she slid across the kitchen counter. Coffee, maybe, tea even - hell, he would have gladly accepted a glass of water like any quenched man. 

They settled on either ends of her couch, Owen chuckling at the portable game consoles sitting on her coffee table. Claire sighed, ‘It’s so hard to keep them entertained’. All her sister told her was how much the boys - especially Zach - were zombified from their video games. When she tried to keep them in the apartment just that little bit longer that morning, playing with virtual tech was the last thing on their minds. ‘Thank you, for today. You were a life saver.’ She smiled, cheeks already burning from the strong wine. 

Owen shrugged, expression sheepish, ‘I didn’t mean to commandeer your whole day’. Claire waves him off, she was thankful - as she had said - they were hard to focus and she was out of touch. Owen not only was a magician with the boys but she had turned into his hero. 

‘My sister wants me to spend more time with them, before they forget who I am.’ She ran a hand through her hair, flingers gliding through the gentle waves as she rustled it to buy her sometime. ‘Kids are not my thing’. Despite the comment, Owen felt the need to argue. She had done wonderfully with her nephews, never too impatient, although she had her moments. But, she listened to them, and she was fair, and above all else she was looking out for him. He worked at the park, he wasn’t blind to the swarms of families and the different archetypes. Some people let their kids run wild without discipline, allowing them to get lost or hurt. He couldn’t see care in not finding the balance in mutual respect between, child, adult, and the area they were inhabiting. Claire _watched_ her nephews and made sure they were behaving.

‘Dinosaurs aren’t either,’ He laughed, pointing out to Claire what she had hoped he didn’t notice. No matter what they were looking at, the smallest herbivores to the largest carnivores - Claire kept her distance, just enough so to not arouse suspicion. Owen liked to think himself smarter than the average man - or child. 

Claire sighed, groaning into her glass as she took a long sip. ‘Business is my thing.’ Owen nodded, he already knew that. Claire didn’t know when his hand fell across the back of her suddenly small couch, his thumb brushing against her shoulder bravely. The alcohol thrummed in her system, flushing her pale skin. She chose to ignore the way he moved closer, inching forward just a little as her mind remained unsettled on whether she wanted him to kiss her or not. Surely, that was what he was going for - Claire could see the spark in his eye. 

She leant in, ready to let every wall she could possibly construct crumble to the ground. Owen Grady was the last person on the whole of the island she considered getting along with. But her skin was warm against his hand, his thumb bold, the kind compassion he had shown her all day suddenly electric in her veins. 

She was prepared to leap across the space between them and throw herself into his lap just for the hell of it, when a little body suddenly materialised between them. It was Gray, one hand rubbing at his closed eyes as he pulled himself up onto the couch and deposited himself in Owen’s lap. He yawned long and loud as the adults on either side of him stared at each other, terrified to admit that a spell had been broken. 

‘Owen,’ Gray sighed on a tired breath, ‘You’re the king of dinosaurs’. He told the man with sleepy admiration, eyes still closed as he leant against Owen’s chest. 

Owen couldn’t help the chuckle, ‘But, I thought your aunt was the queen?’ 

Gray sighed again, this time like he was frustrated with their stupidity. ‘Most kings need queens.’ And not because it was required, but rather because most kings were lousy without a counterpart - or at least the boy tried to explain while his head bobbed against Owen’s chest, sleep claiming him almost completely. 

He carried Gray back to bed without a word. 

Claire was staring at her wine glass when he returned, twirling the stem between her fingers, thought caught in the crease of her brow. He knelt on the couch, knee causing a deep dip where her legs crossed. He caught her off guard when she looked up at him, clearly confused, his hands sliding across her jaw, thumbs stopping at her ears as he crashed his mouth down onto hers. 

She squeaked, caught unawares. It took Claire a second to react, Owen braced himself for the worst, Her hands landed on his shoulders, and slid, locking behind his neck as she tugged, trying to pull him down and deepen their kiss. She tasted like dark chocolate and red wine against his lips, deep and rich. He swore he could see stars when she moaned against him, her tongue sliding past his teeth. 

She stared at him when he pulled away, mouth open, breath heavy. ‘Sorry, I had to do that.’ Owen apologised, settling himself on the couch again. Claire shook her head, no words leaving her as she leant forward and kissed him again. 

His hands settled on her hips, pulling Claire forward and into his lap. He moaned when she pulled away, smile so bright he swore she was the sun. ‘I had to do that.’ She repeated his words, her hands on his face as she pecked his lips once, twice, three times. It had already become an addiction, and urge, a need far quicker than she would have liked. 

Owen pulled back, studying her features from up close, counting the freckles on her face as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. ‘I should go,’ He breathed, words full of regret. ‘I really don’t want too, but I should.’ Claire nodded dumbly, biting her lip as she slipped from his lap. There was no doubt in her mind that if her nephews weren’t just down the hall that she would have him in her bed before the clock struck 9pm. 

‘When do they go back to your sister?’ He asked, still trying to catch his breath. 

‘Friday.’ Claire whispered, fingers lazily fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. 

Owen nodded, thinking for a moment before he spoke. ‘Two days.’ She nodded. ‘Two days and I’m taking you on a date.’ He nodded more to himself, than her, for the second time, grin climbing across her cheeks to mirror the expression on hers. 

He leant over to kiss her once again, lingering moments too long, as though he could imprint a need on her to make sure she didn’t block him out in the two days she had left with her nephews. Claire held tight to his shirt, holding him in place before she let him go. 

Owen saw himself out, Claire remaining on the couch. Which was probably for the best. If he had kissed her one more time, his skin warm against hers something inside of her was bound to snap resulting in Owen being dragged towards her bedroom.

*

She wanted to reduce their dinosaur activities for the day. Instead, opting to show the boys around the leisure sides of the park. They, at the news, were not impressed. Gray wanted to get back on the monorail and see the things they had missed the day before and Zach asked into Owen’s whereabouts, curious if the man could join them for a second day. 

Claire ignored their requests for the most part, encouraging them to embrace the small aspects of the park she secretly loved. If they cooperated, and ran on schedule, they could fit something dinosaur related in at the end of the day. 

As for Owen, he had work to do. Which didn’t stop him from texting her intermittently throughout the day. She thought she would wake in the morning and be over him, mad at herself for letting her resolve break down. Instead, she felt the heady beat of her heart in her chest, and the painful smile on her cheeks. Already, she was in too deep. 

She took her nephews deep into the heart of the island’s botanic gardens, picnic basket slung over her arm. Although they had been estranged in the past, Claire didn’t want to encourage it going any further. This trip for them, was not just about seeing dinosaurs, it was about seeing their Aunt Claire - or so their mother had tried to drill into them. She wanted to make the effort to spend time with them. It didn’t start out that way, Claire thought at first, that she could ignore them until their time was up. But, once she realised that they were easy boys, kind, well mannered, and so enthused her heart almost burst - she couldn’t ignore that. Not sweet little Gray, who she’d grown accustom to having attached to her hip.

The last thing Claire wanted was for the boys to form memories wholly based on the things they saw, rather than the person they saw them with. She was committed to her job - almost married to it, if her sister was the one talking. Although she wanted to try harder, leaving the park was often impossible.

The weather warmed their skin, Zach and Gray surprisingly patient with her as they spread a blanket across the grass and sat themselves down. She had Gray leaning against her side, the boy animating cries as he bit the arms and legs off his gingerbread man before putting the baked good out of its misery. 

She didn’t expect the boy to jump up from their lap and shout ‘ _Owen_ ’, before rushing off behind her. Warmth bubbled in her chest as she turned to spot him. Owen ruffled Gray’s hair, grinning at the little boy before he looked up, catching Claire’s gaze. She should have been surprised, but amazingly she was not. When he had asked into her plans for the day, and she had told him in almost specific detail; she should have known he would turn up, invited or not.

‘Aunt Claire said no dinosaurs today.’ Zach dobbed her in the second Owen sat down, both boys gravitating towards him. Owen leant over to kiss Claire’s cheek fondly, as though he had been doing it for centuries, as he smiled. Zach and Gray didn’t say a thing, only watched them curiously before carrying on about dinosaurs. 

‘I have an idea.’ Owen told them, face alight as he told them to finish their lunch quickly. 

*

Owen’s idea involved the Innovation Centre. The boys had already seen it, this being their first stop with Zara right before Claire palmed them off. They explored the centre wildly, moving in between the hoards of legs and other children. 

He steered them toward the labs, where the walls were made of glass. Owen didn’t stop there. He moved them further down the hall to a door that called for employees only. Claire knew where he was taking them the second they stepped through the door, Owen calling for an elevator at the end of the service hall.

The boys were quiet. They had missed the ‘employees only’ sign and were caught in wonder at an empty section of the centre. Gray squeezed Claire’s hand when the elevator came to a stop, doors sliding open to the structured chaos of The Control Room.

‘Now this,’ Owen told the boys as they stepped out, ‘Is where the magic happens’. Zach and Gray stood in disbelief, watching the large screens at the end of the room, and the people moving about. ‘From here, Julianna and her team keep a live watch on every aspect of the park. Making sure people are safe, and the dinosaurs are contained.’ Owen told them, as they slipped along the back of the room. 

He pointed out each station, supplying the name of every staff member and their duties in The Control Room to the boys. Owen had a story about each of them, anecdotes on each station; dinosaur escapes, down fences, lost children, silly afternoons filled with commentary when Juliannawasn’t watching over her staffers. 

‘Your aunt spends time up here too,’ Owen told them, grinning. ‘In fact, she runs the show mostdays, cup of coffee in her hand, no nonsense attitude. It’s great.’ He sighed, teasing Claire only a little. Although Control was considered to be Julianna’s - the Operations Manager, for Jurassic World, Claire called the shots more often than not. Owen had caught her, on many occasions, standing on the back podium, calling demands to whoever was on, defusing a situation before it bubbled into a media _incident_. She had so much power, just from the call of her voice. 

Claire crouched down to Gray’s height, ‘If you go ask Vivian nicely she’ll show you how we track the Pachycephalosaurus’. He nodded softly, following the finger Claire had pointed at the back of Vivian’s chair. She smiled politely at the woman after the boys had approached her, Vivian turning in her chair, eyebrow raised in disbelief. With a nod of Claire’s head, Vivian introduced the boys to her job. 

She fidgeted the whole time they were in Control. Unable to keep still, fingers tracing lines around her hand. It wasn’t until Owen leaned in, talking low and calm into her ear, that Claire stopped moving. ‘No one cares, Claire.’ Her eyes scanned the room, coasting over nonchalant faces as no one so much as batted an eyelash in their direction. ‘They have jobs to do, not gossip.’ Which was partly true. This would be all over the park by the next night, at the latest. Maybe not so much that she was there with Owen, getting along, but that she had a familial bone in her body. 

‘Wait, you’re related to people?’ Lowery quipped, when Claire came over to move the boys along. He had been leaning against Vivian’s station, talking the boys through his duties in The Control Room before she quietly interrupted. Claire rolled her eyes, a hands each on a shoulder belonging to her nephews as she nudged them towards Owen.

*

The boys managed to coerce Owen into convincing Claire that taking them to T-Rex Kingdom was a good idea. Claire had been against it from the second they landed, probably longer than that - from the minute the trip was planned. She put her foot down, no way in hell was she dealing with nightmares and little boys. If they wanted to see it, they could come back with their mother. 

She didn’t know why she caved. It was their last day, Mike Grady would be on the ferry in the morning, to greet his grandsons at the docks. She was weak, tired, and easily convinced when three pairs of puppy eyes pleaded in her direction. 

Gray was trembling. They’d only walked through the gates and he couldn’t manage to contain his excitement. Owen had picked him up, worried they would loose the boy in the growing masses of people, that and he hoped he could contain the trembles.

Claire kept throwing him worried looks, her hand on Zach’s shoulder as he walked a few steps in front of her. Owen only laughed as he tried to focus the boy and find some calm. ‘But, it’s a T-Rex! A real live one! I’m gonna see it!’ He was almost crosseyed, breathing heavily, his hands clenched. 

Zach tensed a little when they made their way into the viewing platform, designed to look like a log from the inside of the Rex’s paddock. It was one of the first things Masrani Global put on the table for Jurassic World. Claire loved the genius in not disrupting the animals enclosure, it’s fabricated habitat in order for millions of people to peer in on it everyday. 

She could sense the moment it’d all become an anti-climax for Gray. He was expecting roar and chaos, destruction and devastation. There was only so much they could simulate. Perhaps he would have struggled with sleep if she had told him Jurassic World’s dear old Rexy belonged to the original park. She had once been chaos and destruction, on that very island. That would keep him up at night. He’d never come back. 

Claire watched for the small frown on his face, Gray’s arms wrapped around Owen’s neck, his face pressed to the man’s cheek. She couldn’t watch the _show._ So, she watched Gray, her hands squeezing Zach no doubt in her mind that he was enjoying himself. He was less the critic than his little brother. 

‘That wasn’t very scary,’ Gray told Owen faces still pressed together, Gray’s little face caught in a disappointed skulk. ‘Aunt Claire, you should make her more scary.’ He told her, turning his head over Owen’s shoulder to nod at her. Claire laughed, in no way was she in charge of that. 

She was just pleased the large dinosaur hadn’t scared the boys out of their skins.

‘I want to see something scarier!’ Gray begged, patting Owen’s shoulders as he cheered. He was on Owen’s shoulders, higher than the people around him, pretending to spot escaped dinosaurs, if only for a faux scare. They’d seen everything the island had to offer - even Owen’s raptors. There was nothing else to show the toddler who was begging to be scared. 

‘I bet your aunt is pretty scary is she doesn’t get to bed on time.’ Owen teased, causing Claire’s hand to fly out and whack him on the arm. She could feel the flush in her cheeks ripen with warmth and embarrassment. But, the laughter of her young nephews was worth it. The comment wasn’t grating, and in all honesty was likely true. 

Owen promised them ice-cream, once again pumping them with sugar before Claire begged them to simmer down and go to sleep. She couldn’t complain. They had been good boys, perfectly behaved, and now that their trip was winding up to an end, she was starting to feel a little sad about it all. 

*

Owen was there to tuck them both in, upon request. Gray asking for a story - this time wide awake as opposed to his dead to the world sleep he’d picked up the last time. Owen didn’t think he had any stories in him, knowing well enough that military ones were not for children. When Zach chimed in quietly, asking for something about the girls, Owen knew exactly what to tell them. 

Claire stood in the doorway, listening to Owen’s quiet words as he told her nephews about the day his raptors hatched. When he finished, Gray asked him gently if he would be there to say goodbye in the morning. It didn’t feel right to the little boy, to say goodbye now, not when there was still tomorrow.

Without checking with Claire, as he had done before absolutely everything, Owen agreed. He would be there in the morning to wave them off, up until the very last moment when they couldn’t see him anymore. 

‘And will you call, too? When we go home?’ Zach asked, blankets pulled up to his chin, brown eyes sleepy. Owen nodded. He had no obligation to those children, no attachments, no reason to commit, but he did so anyway, promising that he would get Claire to pass his number onto their mom. If they had any dinosaur related questions, Owen was happy to help. 

He didn’t leave that night, although he had offered. Instead, Claire gave him the couch - and _only_ the couch. The last thing she needed was her nephews going home with the news that there was a man in Aunt Claire’s bed. It was easier that way, for so many reasons. Claire didn’t want him going all the way to his secluded bungalow only to have to come back in the morning. It was better to not waste anyone’s time. 

It was completely between the two of them when she snuck down to the living room in the middle of the night, only to shove him awake and request that he sleep in her room. The couch was hardly comfortable, or so she reasoned. 

*

Gray clung to her legs with fierce abandon begging if there was some way he could stay forever. Claire held onto the moment, grasping it with both hands as she hugged the boy back before finally letting him go. When she had met them in the Innovation Centre at the start of the week, everyone was a little reluctant, Zach barely smiled at her, and Gray’s hug felt like one out of necessity rather than a friendly want. 

And now, they both squeezed her tight and promised to call her from the airport when their granddad dropped them off. She felt off, saying goodbye to them, after chasing them around the island most days, checking that they had enough to drink, that they ate, and most importantly that they were in bed on time. Once they were gone, there would be no one there for her to look after. Surprisingly, Claire had gotten used to that. 

‘Its odd, but I feel lost without them.’ She hummed, arms crossed over her chest as they stood on the docks, the ferry already off in the distance, lines piling up for the next one expected in twenty minutes. Owen encouraged her away before a new swam of crowds engulfed them, one hand on the small of her back, the other on her arm. ‘I didn’t want them to come in the first place, but now … it’s all so _quiet_.’ He chuckled in good humour, tugging her into his side as they moved from the docks and headed to the monorail. 

When Owen suggested they could come back again, all she had to go was ask her sister, Claire expressed a worry that they would grow bored of the place. Although dinosaurs seemed to be exciting _all_ the time, they sometimes weren’t. ‘They’re not on another planet, you know, you could always go visit them. Take some well earned leave. I think the park managed to prove it could run without you bossing people around. Although, don’t think I didn’t notice you responding to business emails more than once.’ He kissed her cheek out of reflect when she grinned at him, shrugging. Claire would always be a workaholic, that was something she knew for certain. However, the idea of visiting her nephews mightn’t have been the worst. Karen was always hassling her about the holidays, maybe now was the time to go home for once. 

‘Only if you’ll come with me,’ She told him quietly as she wrapped her arm around his. ‘I don’t know how, but I think we’re a package deal.’ 

Owen nodded. ‘It’s probably best that we stick together … least the boys miss some dinosaur related info.’ Owen teased, his grin wide. ‘And, probably because I like you,’ He confessed, ‘… maybe a lot.’ Claire grinned, leaning into Owen a little further as she pushed herself up on her tiptoes to kiss his lips. Owen smiled at her lazily, ‘How do you feel about an early lunch and seeing where the rest of the day takes us?’ 

He lead her onto the monorail, finding them seats in the back as Claire shook her head. ‘Oh, sorry. I only kept you around to entertain my nephews.’ She deadpanned, watching as his face contorted into confusion before she laughed. 

Owen returned his arm to her waist, ‘Oh she jokes now, does she?!’ He tickled her ribs, eliciting a slight shriek and a louder giggle, Claire curling into him to remain discrete. She laughed against his shoulder for a minute, before Owen let her rest. 

‘I would really like that,’ She smiled just as lazily as he had, willing to fall back into her day. There was no rush. Although Zara knew her nephews were going home that morning, Claire had not told her to pick up her schedule. She was free for another day, and completely willing to let herself be at the whim of Owen Grady. 

Several days with her nephews were nice, but now it was time to be an adult. Or at least someone who wasn’t chaperoning young kids who had questions about _everything._ And frankly, for the first time in a while, Claire was actually looking forward to being an adult without any responsibility. No children, no work, just Claire and Owen.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!


End file.
